


Darkness

by AmaranthPrincess21



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-20 23:59:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3669894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthPrincess21/pseuds/AmaranthPrincess21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The marriage market has not been favorable. It's not your fault, though; your parents just don't know your taste in men. Armed with the task of finding the right man, so far you've turned away all of the suitors your parents have introduced to you. But then one night you meet Alois and on a whim, you give him a chance. It turns out he's more a kindred spirit than you originally thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from DA user NaomiMakazeMizuko

Hot, phlegmy, silky wax slithered down Alois Trancy’s fingers as he gripped a candle, shaking as he sat against the wall. You sat beside him, arm linked with his.

“It’s going to be okay, Lord Trancy. Just take deep breaths. Claude will find us in no time and we’ll be out of here,” you told him soothingly.  _The last thing I need is him panicking,_ you thought, looking at the teenage boy. “Just . . . just bear with me for a while, okay? We’ll be out of here soon.” He leaned over, his head resting on your shoulder. You had never seen someone so scared before and you prayed someone would find you soon so Alois could get out of the darkness.  _God, how did I get in this deep,_ you thought, the memories of the past few months resurfacing from the sea of your mind.

  
  


“Oh, cheer up, [First]! This is going to be so much fun! We get to dance the night away and socialize with everyone! It’s been ages since you last came to a ball!” your cousin Elizabeth said cheerfully. The two of you were on your way to a ball held by her fiancé Ciel.

“It’s not that. I just hate this dress and you know my parents are going to inquire about any eligible bachelors I’ve met,” you rolled your eyes, gazing out of the carriage window. You actually liked balls a lot, and you enjoyed spending time with Lizzie and Ciel, but your parents were pressuring you into find a nobleman to start courting. You had mixed feelings about the whole idea. You wanted to marry for love, but you knew it was your duty as a daughter to marry the man with the best connections. But you were still young, even though you had just reached the age to start courting, and you weren’t sure if you were even  ready to start seeing someone.

“Well, maybe you’ll find someone you like this time!” Lizzie said optimistically.

“I doubt it,” you snorted.

“Your parents, although they picked well-connected suitors, don’t know your taste in men. If a marriage is going to work, you need to find someone who cares about you and who you at least can learn to like,” she said, fixing her headband. “How many have you turned down?”

“Twelve,” you replied, deadpan mixing with a faint note a pride in your response.

“Twelve? I thought it was eleven,” she said.

“My parents brought in a  man yesterday,” you explained.

“Oh. Too old?”

“Yes.”

“He probably wouldn’t have made a good husband, anyway.” She paused, watching the Phantomhive Manor come into sight. “I’m very thankful your parents arrived early and Paula is up with the driver. It lets us talk without worrying about upsetting them.”

“Indeed. It’s a true miracle,” you agreed, bracing yourself as your carriage came to a stop. The carriage door was opened by Sebastian Michaelis, Ciel’s butler whom you had a great fondness for. Ciel extended his hand to Lizzie, helping her out of the carriage. Sebastian helped you down, and you murmured your thanks, following your cousin and her betrothed as the four of you made your way into the mansion.

It seemed that you and Elizabeth had arrived fashionably late; the ball was already in full swing, by the looks of it. Couples waltzed around the dance floor, musicians played light and airy melodies, and socialites made shallow small talk with other nobles.  _Typical,_ you thought, spotting your parents talking to a boy that couldn’t have been much older than Ciel.  _Oh, fuck._

“Sebastian, permission to sneak into a guest room to hide?” you asked the tall man, uneasily gazing at your parents.

“I have strict orders from your parents to make sure you don’t run off. My apologies, Lady [First],” he told you, seemingly amused by your distraught facial expressions.

“Ah hell, they’re walking this way!” you exclaimed, watching your parents and the teenager start walking towards you. “I’m sorry, Sebastian, it looks like I’ll have to deal with this.”

“You can always reject him, Miss. Good luck,” and without another word, he left. You exhaled, regaining your composure, before walking towards the three. Up close, you found the boy was very pretty, with light blond hair and gorgeous blue eyes.

“[First], this is Earl Alois Trancy. Sir, this is our daughter, Lady [First] [Last],” your mother introduced you two. You politely curtsied while discreetly eyeing him. _He’s really pretty. A nice smile, too,_ you noted. He bowed, a polite but friendly smile on his face.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lady [Last],” he said cheerfully.

“Likewise, sir,” you replied. His icy blue eyes darted to the small dance card hanging from your wrist and his grin turned from friendly to mischievous.

“How about I fill up that dance card for you?” he asked. 

“Sure.”  _He may be pretty but he works like the others,_ you thought. Alois led you to the dance floor and the two of you started waltzing. 

“How old are you, Lord Trancy?” you inquired.

“I’m sixteen.”  _He’s not twenty years older than me?! For once my parents did something right._

“That’s rather young for you to get married,” you commented.

“It is, but I was never betrothed as a child. I’d rather get married later than sooner but I need to start looking for someone.” 

“That’s something I can understand,” you replied. “I don’t understand the rush to get married. Why not wait a little longer? That way you can know your intended better, not to mention you aren’t in a rush to plan a wedding.”

“My thoughts exactly!” he exclaimed, a large and infectious smile on his face. “You understand me, Lady [Last].”

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” you admitted. “Not many people share that sentiment. The only one I can think of besides us is my cousin Elizabeth, and she understands it only when it applies to me.”

“Your cousin Elizabeth seems very sympathetic.”

“She is. She also doesn’t support me marrying someone twice or three times my age. I can’t say I don’t blame her. She got lucky, though. Her parents betrothed her to someone her age.”

“Oh, who’s her fiance?” What? How can you not know?

“She’s betrothed to Lord Phantomhive. I’m sorry, I assumed you knew since you’re here. Are you not that close to the lord?” you asked. Alois shrugged and gave a nervous laugh.

“Actually, I snuck into this ball. I wasn’t invited but I love balls, so here I am,” he said. _He snuck into a party just for the party’s sake? Alois is quite a character!_ You started laughing heartily. If it wasn’t for your corset, you would have doubled over.

“I am so sorry,” you apologized through your giggles. “I’ve never heard of someone doing that but I completely understand why you’d do that. I love balls too.” The waltz faded into the warm air and you curtsied to Alois while he bowed to you. 

“I’d love to dance with you again, but there’s that weird rule about you can’t dance with someone more than once,” he said, and you chuckled again.

“You don’t like that rule either?”

“Not at all. It doesn’t make any sense.” 

“It really doesn’t. Having any rules that regulate dance partners is absurd to me.”

“I’m glad I asked you to dance, Lady [Last]. You understand me,” he told you as he led you off of the dancefloor. 

“Yes, I’m glad you asked me to dance too. This was very enjoyable,” you agreed sincerely, giving him a small but warm smile. You could see your parents behind him, chatting while keeping an eye on you two.

“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to make the first step in courting you,” Alois said, much to your surprise. No man had ever asked for your permission before. They all began the courting process without your input, only your parents. You could see them behind Alois, looking anxiously at you.  _Rightfully so,_ you internally smirked. He was nice to look at and asked permission, not to mention he was a kindred spirit, so you decided to change things up a bit.

“I would enjoy that,” you told him, trying not to laugh at your parents’ hilariously relieved faces.

“Great!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “I’ll arrange for us to go for a stroll through Hyde Park. How does next Saturday night sound?”

“That would be nice.”

And so your courtship with him began. While you kept up a constant correspondence, your outings were sporadic. He didn’t want to rush things and truthfully, neither did you. He was kind to you and he had a fun energy, but if that boy was mad he was  mad. It was terrifying to see a guy that was normally so kind to do a complete heel turn. That being said, he was never angry towards you, but it did leave an odd taste in your mouth. 

This was going to be your fourth date with him in the span of six months. To say your parents were putting on the pressure for things to to become more serious was an understatement. You tried explaining to your parents about the situation but they refused to acknowledge what you told them, opting to breath down your neck about making things serious with him. You weren’t even completely sure if you liked Alois in that kind of way. He certainly didn’t seem to treat you like most men did their sweethearts, so what was the point of making things serious when you weren’t sure where you stood with him? 

But despite your efforts to keep things somewhat casual, somehow you’d gotten roped into going over to his house for dinner with your family. You were dressed in your finest clothes and tightest corset (all fashion choices had been made by your mother, but you doubted finery was going to reel Alois in) as you sat in his dining room, enjoying the delicious meal prepared by his staff.

Although it was lavishly furnished with red furniture and gilded accents, all you could think about Alois’ dining room was that it was a piece of blood-splattered gold. The room was nice and toasty warm, the servants were well-behaved, and the food was incredible. But still, over the wonderful melody of the night an unsettling undertone could be heard.  I shouldn’t be feeling like this, you thought, picking at your dessert.  _There’s nothing wrong here. Just Alois, my parents, his uncle and cousin, and I. I shouldn’t be feeling this. Maybe I’m just nervous. I mean I’m supposed to make things serious and maybe my parents talked to him about it and he’s going to make things serious. Not to mention he’s been giving me weird looks, too._

The night had been going along normally, too. And yet you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Alois was chatting genially with your father when the room became enveloped in darkness. It was as if someone has blown out all of the candles simultaneously and the sudden darkness made you jump.

“Oh dear,” you heard Claude say from some corner of the room. “I suppose it’s good that we were about to move into the -” The sound of footsteps and the door being thrown open flew through the air, followed by Claude sighing. “You’ll have to forgive Lord Trancy. He’s not fond of the dark. Follow me, please. I’ll lead everyone to the parlor.”

_This is weird. How did the whole manor manage to go dark,_ you wondered, leaving the dining room. Your fingers gently slid across various surfaces as you trudged through the dark, careful not to bump into anything. Now was not the time to trip and fall over. You followed the sound of chatter as you all blindly made your way down the hallway. But underneath the conversations you heard something that sounded like whimpering. _What is that? It sounds like it’s coming from down the hallway. Is that Alois?_ The sound was constant, never fading but not getting louder. _I’ll go see what that is._

You slowed down, trailing behind the group until they turned a corner. You walked back down the hallway, going back towards the dining room and the past it. It was pitch black and you had no idea where you were going, following the whimpering and hoping you’d get somewhere.

“Lord Trancy? Are you all right?” you called out softly. No response. _Maybe it’s a servant?_ You kept walking, turning a few corners and walking down the maze-like corridors of the Trancy manor. Faint strains of light danced across the floor as you turned the corner. The sounds seem to be coming from in here. You opened the door and found Alois sitting in a linen closet, his eyes pink and tear stains running down his cheeks.  

“Lord Trancy?” you asked, approaching him. 

“What are you doing here?” he demanded sharply, giving you a cold glare. Any traces of kindness were gone.

“I heard you and wanted to see if you were okay,” you explained, walking towards him.

“Well I’m fine,” he snapped. “Go back to the dining room and don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. I -” The floor started to shake, making you lose your footing. With a squeal, you grabbed onto the door for support but it gave none. You tumbled into the linen closet, the door slamming behind you and narrowly avoiding Alois. When you tried to open the door, you found that it was jammed, effectively locking the two of you inside. 

And now you were here, sitting in a linen closet with Alois, the two of you clinging to candles as darkness and shadows danced around you. The flame in Alois’ candle was dangerous close to running out of twine to burn. To say he looked frightened was an understatement. The look on his face suggested that if the flame were to go out, he’d lose his life. 

“Alois,” you said softly, hoping he’d forgive your faux paus. “I’m sure they’ll find us soon. Claude is probably -”

“- Laughing his arse off at our distress. He’s not kind or compassionate,” Alois said through gritted teeth. “He doesn’t care about me. You’re the only one that cares about me.”

“That’s not true. I’m sure loads of people care about you,” you tried to convince him. 

“They only care about my skills or my money. You’re the only person that cares about me for me,” he argued. 

“I don’t think that’s true. I think a lot of people care about you and you just can’t see it.” He was silent, staring into the small flame of his candle. 

“Do you like me, [First]?” he asked quietly.

“I-I guess,” you shrugged. “I think you’re a very interesting person and I enjoy your company, but I don’t know if I have any romantic feelings for you just yet.”

“I think people want us to make things serious,” he confided in you.

“You’re having that feeling too?”

“Yes. But I don’t know whether I want to make things serious yet. I like you but I don’t know whether or not I like you romantically or not. But then again, our marriage would mostly be for political reasons anyway. I think you’re the only person I’d be happy married to.”

“Really?” you asked, a sort of fluttering feeling rising through your soul. “I-I think I’d be happily married to you as well.”

“Do you want to make things official?”

“I don’t know. I like the pace we’re going at.”

“I do too, but we could always have our engagement last a long time before getting married. That way we get people off of our backs but it’s like nothing changed,” he suggested.  _He has a point. And it’s not like much will change. Why not? I like him and if we don’t work out, we don’t work out. But I enjoy his company and there’s no reason not to,_ you rationalized.

“I agree with you. Let’s make things official, then,” you said. His smile was brighter than the candle he held. You didn’t know if you’d fall in love with him. But at this rate, whether you did or not, officially courting him and spending the rest of your life with him would be very enjoyable.

  



End file.
